Romance Reads and Reviews

Review: A Spring Deception by Jess Michaels

Having read and really loved the first novel in the Seasons series, I was delighted to be able to read the second novel, A Spring Deception. Celia was a character who truly deserved a happily ever after. Her life with her grandfather had been hard, and although she'd always had her sister Rosalinde, it was clear that Celia wasn't able to accept certain things as easily, and that they ate at her.

The novel opens with a murder and immediately the stage is set for the deception of which Celia is the lucky victim of because by falling in love with Clairemont, she gains her happily ever after. It was lovely seeing Clairemont court Celia because he really did care about her, and it was wonderful to see Celia stand up for herself when all is revealed. Celia is made of sterner stuff than we might at first think, and she's a bit of a risk taker as well, which surprised me.

The man who is Clairemont, or more correctly, Dane, is one I really liked. He was so deeply in love with Celia and even though he was living a bit of a double life, his first concern was always for her, and won me over entirely. It was so romantic that Celia consumed Dane so entirely. It broke his heart I think to court Celia falsely, but I liked that he was honest, and I think in all the ways that really mattered, he was honest with Celia.

I have to say I loved the ending. Celia has as much back bone as her sister, though perhaps she is not as assertive, showing it only when it matters viscerally and she certainly won over our hero. I think it was the perfect happily ever after for both Celia and Dane, both of whom always felt a bit lost. In each other, they found a safe haven and a very deep and true love, which was beautifully portrayed by the author.

A wonderful romance, with a happily ever after that made me grin, once again I am delighted and cannot wait for more from this series.